Gentle Shadows of a King
by Kaiser Vali
Summary: Kieth Vex is the king of Scarrow what adventures await him? Love, war maybe revenge or maybe all three read and find out.
1. Chapter 1

AN/ So this is my own made up story so I own almost everything, I hope you all enjoy/

 _Chapter 1: Prologue_

My name is Kieth Vex, I am the prince of a land known as Scarrow the king is my father Arthur Vex and my mother the queen is Beth Vex and there is my sister the princess Saphire Vex.

Today was the day that changed my life forever, I was six at the time and I walking down the farmers market with Saphire hoping to find our friends Jason, Mark and Alexander or Alex for short.

I had made it half way down when Malcom one of the royal guards spotted us "your majesty's" he said with a small bow.

I nodded my head happy with the face he addressed us properly, I had always loved being classed among the same standards as my father all be it he was a little higher in rank but close enough.

I look to my right and what do I see? The cousins Jason and Mark Winter stealing from the baker "GET BACK HERE YA BRATS" he scareames as Mark runs with away with sweet rolls stuffed up his shirt and Jason closely behind him.

I grabbed Saphire's hand we chased after them, eventually reaching an alyway "hey guys" I said making the two in question jump out of shock and surprise.

"KIETH ya nearly gave me heart attack" Mark said as Jason began giggling.

"Ya gonna share or what ya sheep shagger" I said tossing my arms on the air, he rolled his eyes and handed me a sweet roll.

As Jason gave my sister one she kissed him on the cheek making him go as red as the meat I had for dinner.

"Anyone know where that Alex is" Jason said trying to change the subject.

"That lazy bastard is probably sleeping in the stables" Mark sakd with a mouth full

"My arss he'd be too hungry he's probably hiding in amongst our sweet rolls" Jason stated as seriously as you can imagine, the funny thing is Mark actually checked his sweet rolls to see if Alex was there.

"Hawl I'm no lazy or fat ya bunch a bastards" Alex said as he walked up too us

"Sure and Saphire is actually a common whore" I scoffed

Saphire went beat red and whacked me on the head with sweet roll which actually kinda hurt "DO NOT COMPARE ME TO A WHORE YOU DISGUSTING PIG" with each scream a blood vessel of mine blew up.

Before I could reply I saw a bunch of soldiers running towards the castle, I recognised one as Sir Roland one of the castle's best men he was dressed in Fine chain armour and had his two handed sword already out "SIR ROLAND" I called to him, he noticed me and walked over "what's the commotion" I asked rather concerned.

"It's yer parents laddie there dead" and with that everything's my I knew changed.

~Time Skip almost 10 years~

I became King under influence after my fathers death I was a lot more colder and distant after his death the only people I spoke to where my friends, my sister and the council.

Almost ten years since those assassins from the north killed the people who raised me and never got to see me grow up into a man, they paid with their lives I had seen to that.

One thing was clear amongst all of this, I was King now and in one week when I become 16 I will have to make all the decisions alone.

So I had one question, what kind of king will I become?

AN/ that's a wrap, this is a lot harder to write for and the chapters might be shorter than my other story but I'm enjoying wrighting it and I hope you all enjoy reading it, let me know your thoughts bye guys!/


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: Ascension_

Here I stood infront of the elder council with my pride and honour on a silver pallet requesting their permission to be granted the title of king.

"As the only true son of our previous lord and as our chosen representative we elect you Kieth Vex, to be the new king of Scarrow" Era spoke as she smiled warmly at me.

"Elders I thank you for trusting me with my birthright and I wish you great fortune during my time as ruler" I said trying to smile back.

"My lord we are honoured to bestow this title upon you, however we must ask one thing of you in return" Dharak said with his gruffly voice

"Whatever it is I'm sure I can fulfill it" I said with my blank expression returning

"Marry a women and make her queen" Era said with a hint of sympathy in her eyes, she knew I had no desire to marry or fall in love not after my parents anyway, I refuse to have anything to do with that pathetic emotion called _love_.

"If I must" I answered begrudgingly.

"We have a few suitors lined up, Princess Sapphire will go over them with you until you find someone who catches your eye, good day milord" Dharak finished as I walked out of the council room.

As I extend into the streets of Scarrow I was greeted by one of my only friends "Hey Kieth or is it Lord Vex now" Alex said as he got of his horse, it was a brown horse with little golden patches across its body, he called it Coco.

"It'll be Lord Vex as soon as I complete the most irritating task of all time given to me by the elders" I expressed throwing my arms in the air.

"What could be so bad that it would get under your skin so much" Alex said as he laid a hand on my shoulder.

"They want me to marry a women so she can be my queen" I said followed by a sigh.

Alex burst out laughing "that's it" he continued to laugh not understanding the gravity of the situation until a sword was at his throat.

I wasn't surprised to find Mark to my left holding the sword at Alex's throat "as his majesty's right hand I think it would be best if you kept your mouth shut whether or not I'm your friend I have a sworn duty, remember?" He said as he smirked slowly.

"Alright hot shot let's quit the dramatics since we already know Alex is pissing himself and has been since the sword went within the proximity of his throat" I explained to Mark.

As if on cue Alex's pants began to wet and his horse began to neigh before running into the town square, which was followed by him chasing it at full speed, poor guy.

~Time Skip~

"Nope" I must have said that about 75 times now, my sister kept going over potential suitors for me to marry and not one of them caught my eye.

"Well what about this one Princess Thalia, she's eighteen so she's your age, she had long black hair and sky blue eyes and she's available" I was about to say no but something stopped me, If I don't marry then I'm not king and I NEED to be king so I can do my parents proud.

"Ok" I said and stood up walking away from my sister

"OH FOR GODS SAKE JUST PICK- Wait? Did you just say 'ok'?" She asked clearly shocked by my sudden change in answer.

"Yes, send a raven I choose Princess Thalia to be my betrothed" I finished as I entered my living quarters only to hear my sister squeal in delight.

"Somethings will never change eh master Vex" I turned to my left to Roland my butler with tea ready for me.

"I rarely drink this crap I prefer alcohol but since it's your own cup it's alright" I said taking the first cup.

"I'm glad I can be of service sir" he said in his old man English accent.

"Roland what do you know about Princess Thalia" I asked, Roland's been around since my fathers rule and if she's a neighbour royal of my age then he likely knows her.

"I'm surprised you don't remember her from when you were little, your parents always done business with hers so you two used to play while the grown ups done all the formal work, you two where actually going to be married by arrangement from your parents but as you know sir tragedy struck" he waited a minute before continuing "after that they never came around as much, however what you must keep in mind was that they were at and still are at war with the Black Keppers" ah yes of course that makes sense.

Allow me to explain, Scarrow has many neighbours for example to the south is Thalia's land Valguard, to the north is the Ferstorn otherwise known as the city of Ice , to the east is Zamhinea more developed city than the wastelands to the south west but not as advanced as Scarrow and finally the root of everyone's problems our west neighbors the Black Keppers who are the people of the Black Keep Mountains.

What's interesting is those are the people who are believed to have killed my parents, maybe this whole marriage thing isn't so bad.

"Alright send a chariot to Valguard and explain the situation, I want the royals including the princess here by tomorrow afternoon" I commanded, Roland nodded and went to carry out the task, maybe I could learn to accept this idea...just maybe.

AN/that's a wrap woo hoo this took way too long also if your wondering where Jason is don't worry he'll pop up soon but they all play a roll in the story it's just not his time yet so anyway thank you and I'll see you all later/


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3: The Princess_

As I awoke from my deep slumber I felt the light of the sun hit my eyes as the staff opened the curtains of my room.

"Sir Princess Thalia and her parents will be here shortly, you should get dressed" Roland said as he presented me with a cup of tea.

"Of course I wouldn't want to come across as anything except royalty" I said sarcastically.

"Well sir you don't exactly look it with a mop of hair like that" he smirked.

"Fine, Fine I'll get ready just fuck of already and let me change" I said as i got out of bed and stretched my muscles.

Over the years I had developed a well toned Amazon looking body, basically I was muscly but not to the point where it looks ugly.

I changed into black light armour, and placed my sword Dragon Bane into my hilt.

~Time Skip~

As Thalia exited the chariot she arrived in my jaw dropped with what I saw.

Her eyes were as blue as the sky, here hair reached below her shoulder blades and was black like my own, she wore a red dress that showed off her curves.

As we locked eyes I could of swore she smiled but it quickly disappeared as her parents stepped out and walked her up to me.

"KIETH MY BOY oh ho you've certainly grown haven't you put her there" her father said extending his hand, I saw Thalia nearly die of embarrassment but never the less I grasped his hand only to be pulled in to a bear hug.

"Jonathan put the boy down I'm sure he barely remembers us" Her mother said as she bowed to me respectfully.

"You'll forgive me but yes I have completely no idea of when you and my parents down business but I get the feeling of family around you so I presume we were indeed close" I said with rare smile.

The mother seemed to melt at the comment and the father who I now knew as Jonathan beamed with pride.

"Lady Thalia it's honour to meet you even if it isn't our first meeting" I said Boeing and gently kissing the back of her hand.

"MY LORD YOU CANT BOW TO HER YOUR THE KING YOU MUST MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF YOURSELF" Dharak said, I shot him a cold glare and he realised what he done.

"Yes I am the king and Thalia is my betrothed so she WILL be QUEEN" I said with a glare that could freeze over hell.

"My apologies my lord" Dharak mumbled as he shifted his feet uneasily.

Jonathan beamed at me before looking downcast "my lord may we talk inside" he asked

I nodded my head and we entered the throne room.

As I sat on my throne Jonathon kneeled before me "my lord as you must be aware, our city is in a current state of war so our funds aren't at their best right now, in fact I myself am on the verge of poverty, but I beg you please don't cast my daughter aside because of my failures as a king. I only want the best for her so if you were to marry my daughter i would do anything to pay the debt for the wedding, I offer myself as your eternal slave my lord" As Jonathan spoke I saw everyone's expressions change and I didn't like any of them and I had to agree this wasn't right.

"You say you did business with my father?" He nodded "he never belived that wealth made a good king, you Jonathan are a good king, you have nothing to fear I will pay for the wedding myself and I also intend to help your kingdoms financial situation with the war"

Jonathan's eyes widened before they began to water "Kieth my boy, yer father would be proud of you as am I" I smiled at the comment.

Across the room I saw many smiles but none brighter than Thalia's.

~Time Skip~

I told Thalia and her parents that we'd meet up in the dinning hall later this evening for a dinner and until then they were to make themselves at home, after all they were going to be here for a while.

Roland entered my room with two mugs and a teapot.

"Sir if I may, you handled the situation exactly how your father would have" he smiled as he pored a mug of tea for bit of us.

"Really? I thought I missed out the whole 'we need have a right good celebration' part of my speech" I lightly chuckled.

Roland followed my example shaking his head.

We heard a knock at the door and I granted entrance, Jonathan entered the room with a smile gracing his lips.

"I'll get another mug" Roland said as he was about to leave I quickly interrupted.

"It's fine I'll have the whisky in my private collection, you two have tea" I said waving my hand at the two to which they raised an eyebrow at.

"Aye get aff yer high horse lad and pour us a glass" Jonathon said booming with laughter.

I returned with my rare whiskey and glasses and poured us all a glass.

"Listen lad I appreciate what yer doin for me and Thalia and I'm sorry if it's a burden to you a know Ye have no interest in marriage boyo" Jonathan said with sympathy in his eyes.

"It's fine I'll have to get over it eventually and I will once I..." I paused regaining my composure

"One you what sir" Roland asked with a taised eyebrow, Jonathan looked a little nervous at this point.

"Once I kill the Black Keepers King" I said and the room fell into silence.

I could tell they where both shocked by what I said, the king of the Black keep is only known by the name Black Reaper.

"Lad are ye sure about that, it'd be a very dangerous thing to attempt" Jonathan said a little hesitant.

"Jonathan gather your best fighters in my throne room in 15 minutes I will explain when I arrive" I said leaving the room with two shocked men.

~Time Skip~

Myself, Saphire, Thalia, her mother Anna, Roland, Jonathan and his best fighters where now gathered in the throne room.

"All right since I made a bold statement earlier I intend to back it up, Jonathan I'm going to defeat all three of your men by myself I only have one request and it's that I may duel wield" I said shocking everyone, never the less Jonathan nodded indicating it was all right.

"My lord will it be thee on one or will you have three separate fights?" Anna asked as she came out of her shock.

"All at once I would like to have a challenge at least" I said keeping a blank expression.

The only thing making me want to do this more was the fact two of them where eyeing up Thalia like a piece of meat, but she seemed to be busy focused on my statement to notice it, as for the other soldier he had short black hair and dark hazel eyes and unlike the others he wasn't eyeing up Thalia instead he was staring directly at me almost as if he was expecting this.

After I got suited up in basic light armour I was given my two sword Dragon bane and Necroshade, Dragon bane was a sword with a black hilt and a fusion of rare metals for its blade, necroshade however was a fully ebony sword that was a little lighter.

"Begin" Roland shouted as the two eyeing up Thalia ran towards me going for a basic hack and slash technique.

I quickly blocked them with one of my blades blocking each of there's, I then proceeded to roll forward and spin round.

I was quick enough that by the time they noticed I was behind them they were already disarmed.

As for the third one he finally approached me and got into a stance I didn't recognise.

I attacked but he leaped upwards like a cat and struck in downwards motion, I had enough time to react by blocking the attack with Dragon bane.

He seemed caught off guard by the fact I blocked it so I took the chance to knock my hilt into his ribs.

He coughed and stumbled backwards onto his knees, but quickly recovered and attacked again, this time however I was able to determine where he would strike, so just as he swung I blocked him with Dragon bane and disarmed him Necroshade.

"Your name?" I asked as I pointed my sword at his chest proving I had won.

"It's Levi" he said showing no regret or sign of annoyance by the fact he lost.

"Hey he had two swords how was that fair" one of the idiots I had disarmed at the start said

"He said before the match that he was duel wielding and you accepted and if you count there are three of us and one of him" Levi said with anger in his voice.

"Alright you two, your on sword sharpening duty for the week for that attitude, as for you Levi watch your tounge in the Kings presence" Jonathan said making those two idiots from before slump down defeated.

"Levi can speak as he wishes in my home and in fact I may have a proposition for you Levi" I said letting a faint smile grace my lips.

"And what that might be My king" Levi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'd like to hire you as the third commander of my army" I said offering him a handshake.

Levi shook it and accepted the job to which Jonathan seemed defeated at but he quickly remembered what I said earlier.

"Well I'll tell Ye one thing the, Black Keepers are in trouble am I right boyo?" He asked with a bright smile.

"That you are my friend, that you are" I said felling fired up and ready for anything.

AN/ if your wondering what Thalia, Jonathan and Anna's last names are its Ironhorn, thanks for reading guys/


End file.
